PATRICK BLOODWORTH was named aeronautical business development director for SkyNet Satellite Communications USA. He will be responsible for growth of SkyNet’s Aeronautical Information System (AIS) with private, commercial and government customers in the Americas. He has more than 25 years of new technology system sales, customer training and program management experience.
Flexjet has signed an agreement with Rosewood Hotels & Resorts that will provide customers of the fractional ownership provider with special access to hotels and resorts, along with benefits including special destination package options and room upgrades. Established in 1979, Rosewood operates a chain of upscale residence-style hotels in seven countries.
JENNY ROGERS was named sales director for Gulfstream Aerospace’s North American sales, East division. Rogers will be responsible for sales in New England, New York (excluding metro New York City) and in Quebec and the Maritime provinces of Canada. Rogers previously spent more than three years as a New Jersey-based Northeast sales director for Hawker Beechcraft, where she marketed, sold and delivered more than 30 aircraft. Rogers joined Hawker Beechcraft in January 2003 as a flight intern.
Columbus, Ohio-based fractional ownership company NetJets signed a deal with Signature Flight Support to have its own private terminal at Palm Beach International Airport, the companies announced last week. The facility will include a newly constructed 10,000-sq.-ft. terminal, along with approximately six acres of paved ramp, aircraft movement and car parking areas. The deal will enable NetJets to serve its customers with staff from Signature in a facility built to its specifications.
Aviation market intelligence consultancy Jetnet reports double-digit growth of 15.7% in used business jet retail sales transactions in the first four months of 2011, along with a decline in average asking price. The health of the pre-owned market sets the stage for new aircraft orders, Jetnet adds in a new report.
Cessna Aircraft has updated its Apple iPad information and planning application designed for all of the company’s single-engine aircraft. The new version of the application, the iFlite 3, enables pilots to access up-to-the-minute weather images, plan routes and features dual-screen moving maps. iFlite 3 also provides access to Cessna Pilot Operating Handbooks, enables users to calculate aircraft weight and balance, along with takeoff and landing performance numbers.
The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched an investigator last week to the scene of a forced landing and fire involving a vintage Boeing B-17 owned by the Liberty Foundation. The aircraft, dubbed the Liberty Belle, had seven people on board. Liberty Foundation Chief Pilot Ray Fowler says the aircraft was scheduled to fly from Aurora Airport in Illinois to Indianapolis. Flying the aircraft were John Hess, who has piloted the World War II bomber since 2005 and has more than 14,000 hr.
MIKE OPHEIM was appointed vice president of business aviation sales for Satcom Direct, where he will be responsible for marketing items, including printed material, trade shows and management of website content and media, along with customer interface development in all areas of the organization. Before coming to Satcom Direct, Opheim spent almost 30 years with Rockwell Collins, most recently as director of eastern region aftermarket sales.
Initial testing of GPS receivers confirms aircraft navigation systems will experience significant jamming from thousands of broadband-wireless transmitters planned to be deployed across the U.S. The tests were conducted to determine the susceptibility of GPS receivers to interference from the high-power terrestrial transmitters that LightSquared plans to deploy.
Gulfstream Aerospace has delivered its 300th Gulfstream G550 business jet, to a Taiwanese customer. Taiwan charter and aircraft management company Win Air will manage the jet. The company operates two U.S.-registered aircraft (a Gulfstream G450 and a GIV), along with its two Taiwan-registered G550s.
Smyrna Air Center, a Tennessee-based fixed-base operator, has completed its first Power 90 Upgrade conversion for AeroMetric. GE Aviation’s M601E-11A engines are now powering AeroMetric’s King Air E-90 aircraft, which are based in Anchorage, Alaska. The Power 90 Upgrade is a conversion in which the King Air 90’s original powerplants are replaced with the 705-shp GE M601E-11A engines.
Eclipse Aerospace has sold out spaces for its Avio IFMS completion program. More than 100 customers have placed firm, non-refundable deposits to participate in the program, which is now booked through March 2012. This program installs the fully integrated Avio flight management system into the Eclipse 500 very light jet, completing one of the most advanced glass cockpits in general aviation.
BOMBARDIER Regional Jet Series 700, 701, 702, 705 and 900 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0159; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-246-AD; Amendment 39-16713; AD 2011-12-06] – Replace the Horizontal Stabilizer Trim Actuator (HSTA) with a modified HSTA, per the instructions of Bombardier Service Bulletin 670BA-27-058 (dated Aug. 31, 2010).
The Nordam board of directors is expected to elect Meredith Siegfried CEO at the July board meeting, putting one of the final pieces in place in the company’s long-term succession plan for its leadership. Siegfried, daughter of Nordam founder and longtime owner Ray Siegfried, joined the business in 1999 and became chief operating officer in January.
Fractional aircraft program operators are seeing an uptick in demand for aircraft shares, the heads of two key providers say. Steven Santo, president and CEO of Avantair, says, “We’re seeing resurgence in the fractional side.” The company, which sells shares in Piaggio Avantis, is seeing growth at a rate not experienced since the beginning of the downturn, Santo says. The company is accelerating the number of planes it is taking and hiring more pilots, he notes, adding that Avantair will have increased its fleet by eight aircraft this year.
Lightning protection standards for aircraft have been revised by FAA. The new rule – which applies to electrical and electronic systems installed on aircraft certificated under FAR Parts 23, 25, 27 and 29 – establishes two levels of lightning protection for aircraft systems based on the consequences of system function failure. “Catastrophic consequences” are failures that would prevent continued safe flight and landing.
BOMBARDIER CL-215-1A10, CL-215T and CL-415 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2011-0565; Directorate Identifier 2010-NM-280-AD] – This proposed AD would require operators to replace solid (round head) rivets with flush rivets on the bracket assembly of the emergency water dump pulley. Operators also would need to install new stiffeners on the bracket assembly and conduct a detailed visual inspection and liquid-penetrant inspection of the stiffeners for cracks, deformations or signs of corrosion. If damage to stiffeners were found, new stiffeners would have to be installed.
Business Jet Access recently dedicated its new 50,000-sq.-ft. facility at Dallas Love Field. Located on a 7.5-acre parcel on the west side of the airport, the facility includes a terminal building and two large hangar bays. The company formerly shared space with its sister company, Business Jet Center, on the airport’s east side. “This new stand-alone facility will enable us to expand our business footprint at Love Field in order to better serve our many customers, both regionally and nationally,” says Brian Hoffman, general manager of Business Jet Access.
FAA’s John Allen believes iPad and iPhone technology can help its effort to standardize its field offices. FAA is exploring their use to expedite the dissemination of information to the field offices, he notes. The agency is in a position where it pays Jeppesen to furnish products FAA itself produces. That is because FAA would otherwise have to go through the Government Printing Office, he says, “which slows the process.”
May business aircraft activity was up 3.6% over April, according to “TraqPak” data from Cincinnati-based Argus. Looking at the results by operational category, all segments posted a positive month, with Part 91 operations leading the way, up 5.5%, says the report. “Part 135 charter activity came in second, up 2%, and the fractional market showed a slight increase of 0.1%,” the company says.
June 14—University of Westminster Aviation Seminars: Air Transport Marketing: Practical Techniques and Strategies, London, +44 (207) 911-5000 ext 3220, fax +44 (207) 911-5171, www.westminster.ac.uk/aviation June 15-16—Shephard Group’s UV Europe Air, Land & Sea 2011, Hotel Husa President Park, Brussels, +44 (175) 372-7001, www.shephard.co.uk/events/ June 15-17—Regional and Low-Cost Air Transport: Opportunities and Challenges, London, +44 (207) 911-5000 ext 3220, fax +44 (207) 911-5171, www.westminster.ac.uk/aviation
The major business and general aviation groups are mounting a legal challenge to a recent U.S. Department of Transportation decision to effectively end the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program. The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) say they will seek an injunction to prevent the DOT’s BARR ruling from taking effect on Aug. 2. The partners also will ask the court to invalidate the new policy altogether.
Cambridge Airport in the U.K. has opened a bid process to solicit a new fixed-base operation. The addition of an FBO is a “further demonstration of its commitment to enhance its service offering to business aviation clients,” the airport says. The new provider will take over the FBO from Marshall Business Aviation, which will provide maintenance. The airport, which has a 6,447-ft.-long runway, is owned and managed by the Marshall Group of Companies. Cambridge officials note that they already have received expression of interest in a new facility from six companies.
West Star Aviation recently completed installation of the first upgrade of a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 package to the Pro Line 21 avionics suite on a Falcon 2000. The upgrade, which involved replacing the existing cathode ray tube displays with liquid crystal displays, is now available for both Pro Line 4-equipped Falcon 2000 and 2000EX aircraft. The new system displays charts, maps and graphical weather, and operators can upgrade the GPS sensors with WAAS for LP/LPV capability. The project was completed at the West Star’s facility in East Alton, Ill.
